''Eucinostomus argenteus'', the spotfin mojarra or silver mojarra, is a species of fish belonging to the family

Gerreidae The mojarras are a family, Gerreidae, of fish in the order Perciformes. The family includes about 53 species found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate regions. They mostly inhabit coastal salt and brackish waters, although some occur in fre ...

. The name spotfin mojarra is descriptive of the black spot that appears on the anterior part of the dorsal fin.

Description

Mojarras are silvery in color and fairly diamond-shaped. They have smooth scales, anal spines, and forked tails. Mojarras have a single dorsal fin, with spines of decreasing length along the fin. The dorsal and anal fins have scaly sheaths at their bases. A unique feature of the family Gerreidae to which it belongs is the mouth, as the upper jaw extends downward when the mouth is opened and forms a tube. When the mouth is closed, the lower jaw is concave, providing another distinctive feature. The spotfin mojarra has a black spot on the anterior part of the dorsal fin. This species also has a groove on the top of its snout that lack scales, and generally has a more slender body than other species of mojarras. On the upper part of the body, faint, irregular bars are visible.

Distribution and habitat

Mojarras are tropical species, but a small number of juvenile fish have been found in the Lower Hudson at Bowline Pond and Indian Point.

Taxonomy

''Eucinostomus argenteus'' was first formally described in 1855 by Spencer Fullerton Baird and Charles Frédéric Girard with the type locality given as

Beesley's Point, New Jersey Beesley's Point is an unincorporated community in Upper Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. Beesley's Point is on Peck Bay across from Ocean City. Beesley's Point is home to the Beesley's Point Generating Station and one end ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Eucinostomus ''Eucinostomus'' is a genus of fish in the family Gerreidae. They are native to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas. Species There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus: * ''Eucinostomus argenteus'' S. F. Baird & Girard ...

'' as the genus was

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

when Baird and Girard named it.

References

Wheeler, A. Fishes of the World. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1975, pp. 196 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2032416 Gerreidae Fish described in 1855